This is a review of The Late Talker: What to Do If Your Child Isn’t Talking Yet by Marilyn Agin, Lisa Geng, and Malcolm Nicholl. Marilyn Agin is a developmental pediatrician that specializes in apraxia and Lisa Geng is a mother of two late talkers. This book’s target audience is parents, not professionals. They want to educate parents of toddlers who are late talkers. Their first chapter is a brief overview of normal speech development and the second talks about the consequences of speech delays. The third chapter briefly introduces you to speech disorders in general and Childhood Apraxia of Speech in particular. These first three chapters are a well written overview of the background information you need to know in order to understand what exactly the problem is with your child’s speech and why it matters.
Next the book begins to go into what you can do about it. Chapter four is about the various professionals you will meet when you begin to try to get help: developmental pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, pediatric neurologists, etc. Chapter 5 is about getting the right kinds of therapy. Chapter 6 is about insurance. Chapter 7 is about things you can do at home (several good ideas here). Chapter 8 is about fish oil supplementation. Chapter 9 is about your child’s frustration and how you can cope with it. Chapter 10 is about your frustration and fears as a parent and how to cope. Chapter 11 is a summary.
Pretty much every chapter covers a topic that is interesting as a parent who is dealing with a child who is a late talker. I highly recommend the book. I think it is a great place to start if you’re just beginning to research. I think it can be a useful review that might hit some areas you’re unfamiliar with even if you’ve been looking into CAS for a while.
If you have a Kindle, or a smartphone that runs Kindle, you can download a sample of this book for free. If I remember correctly, the sample includes the introduction and maybe even the first chapter. I was able to get the book through my local library. Even if I had purchased it, I would have felt it was money well spent. I also saw the book at my local Barnes and Noble. So it is pretty easy to get your hands on a copy of this book if you are interested.
If you've read it, or go out and read it, let me know what you think.
I read this and also recommend it!
ReplyDelete(The reason for posting a disclaimer about product referrals is that, by law, a blogger is required to say if they got the product for free or were compensated for the review...so for those of us who do review on a regular basis, we clarify either way.)
I read the Einstein Syndrom, but not this book. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the middle of reading this also, I'm finding it helpful. Thanks for your email on BBC btw, I owe you a response. I check out your blog often!
ReplyDeletetake care Linda
To Annette and Linda:
ReplyDeleteGood to know some other parents thought this book was pretty good too.
To This is My Life:
I didn't read The Einstein Syndrome. What did you think of it? Would you recommend it?
I'll admit that I avoided it on purpose. I could be wrong, but I think the book is about the best case scenario where the late talker just catches up. Oddly enough, I don't want to read about that. I'd rather be prepared for the worst and then be pleasantly surprised than build my hopes up only to be disappointed. Does that make sense?
Hey Dala- Let's see. Would I recommend the Einstein Syndrom. It is not for everyone. I got a lot out of it but skipped through some parts. I liked the general idea that late talking does not necessarily indicate low intelligence. We of course know this as parents of children with delayed language (or Apraxia). I read it right after I found out about the possibility of Apraxia and was on the up and down cycle.
ReplyDeleteI did not read it thinking my son was an Einstein but it helped remind me that not every diagnosis is necessarily accurate, and to hope for the best outcome. Yes, the best case scenario is what this book focuses on so in reality it is the exception, not necessarily the norm. I had to keep my self in check and remind myself Apraxia is not just late talking, but did feel a more positive feeling after I was finished.
Thanks for letting people know a little about the Einstein Syndrome book. It is nice to finish a book feeling a little more positive. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd boy do I know about that up and down cycle. Does it end? I guess I think that there are going to be ups and downs forever in a way. At least while they're this young we're not dealing with school/peer issues. I dread that. I'm trying to just focus on the present though and not worry about the future just yet.
I am very blessed to have come up on your sight and really had the time to dig deeper into it. I am a mom of a child on the autism spectrum and is already 14 yrs of age and was taken from his IEP and has suffered with his speech along with other things. It is a long story and I know as well as anyone, we see them everyday. He is on a Fish Oil Vitamin that has the requirements for the brain mental function along with cardio and he also takes a vitamin D and his meds that the doctor prescribed. My questions were one about the supplement that you added with your daughter, and did she have regression and it help with what was taking place at the time or was it just improving were you were already at if that makes sense? I feel over the years that he has been without services that the regression that has occured we have backtracking to do and in alot of ways we have to keep asking what he is saying over and over and it irritates him with his low tone issue also. We are in the process of getting him back in the school system with public school and getting his IEP set back in place but you know how long that takes. Do you have any suggestions on what I should do in the meantime as far as working with him and how to start?
ReplyDeleteI also have another son that is ADHD that I feel has some type of speech issue. He talks very loud and he letters do not always come out right. In his spelling I feel it is what he is sounding out in his head. Reading is not something he likes to do and I really have to stay on to him. When he picks out a book he wants short simple books and he is going into the 5th grade. Last year due to all our circumstances, I homeschooled all my children which I have 3, two boys ages 14 and 10 and one girl age 11 and I found there was alot of issues being left unnoticed in the school system where I had talked with them very often about and I am know just being able to really focus on those issues. We have had to focus on dealing with all the anger from the build up in my oldest from the social issues of bullying in schools and how it has affected our entire family this past year. I know this is alot in a post but you are so full of alot of info I just thought you might could help. Thanks for being so giving and helpful to others when you have a blessing at home that you are caring for and working with daily. God Bless you and your family!